If you have been following along on my blog with me, you know that I like to use a lot of recipes from Cook’s Country. It is perhaps my favorite cooking magazine and I like to use the recipes because most of them are pretty easy, use basic ingredients, and taste great. the magazine only comes out every other month, and since their website is a pay website if you want to access the recipes, I don’t mind sharing the ones that I try out so you can see just how good they are. Such is the case with this chicken tostada recipe I made this week, which was in the latest issue of Cook’s Country. I have made tostadas before, and they are pretty easy to put together, and this one incorporated some nice spicy black beans into the recipe and since I love black beans personally, I knew I wanted to give this recipe a try.

Chicken Tostadas with Spicy Mashed Black Beans

2 (6 to 8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed, halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise 1/2 inch thick

1 tablespoon ground cumin

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed

1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes

1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

8 (5-inch) corn tostadas, warmed

2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (1/2 cup)

2 radishes, trimmed, halved, and sliced thin

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and toss it with the ground cumin, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. Heat the vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet set over medium-high heat until it is just smoking. Cook the chicken until it is browned and cooked through, about 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and tent it loosely with foil to keep it warm.

Return the now-empty skillet to medium-high heat and add the black beans, tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of the cilantro. Cook, mashing the beans with a potato masher, until the mixture is thickened and the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste.

Arrange the tostadas on a serving platter. Spoon 1/2 cup of the bean mixture onto each tostada. Evenly distribute the chicken, feta cheese, radishes and the remaining 2 tablespoons of cilantro over the bean mixture. Serve with sour cream and lime wedges on the side.

A couple of quick notes about the recipe. The original recipe calls for a can of diced tomatoes and green chiles, which I did not have, so I just used diced tomatoes and diced up half of a jalapeno pepper and included it in the mix. It tasted nice and fresh to me this way. I did not use corn tostadas, again because I did not have any on hand, but instead used small flour tortillas I had on hand and fried them in oil for a minute to crisp them up nicely. These worked fine for me as well and everyone seemed to like them. I also did not use feta since we aren’t much for feta in this house and instead I offered up some Mexican cheese blend for Michelle and Sean since they are the cheese eaters in the house. The tostadas were delicious and the bean mixture on the tostadas was perfect, giving just a little bit of spice and a nice refried beans texture to the dish. We gobbled up every last bit of them and I did make some easy Mexican rice to go alongside the dish, which I will post the recipe for tomorrow. The lime wedges and sour cream topped it all off, and even some fresh avocado would be nice along with these also. It’s a very easy meal for any night of the week.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!